The people and culture of Nagaland, India

[Editor’s note: Nagaland is a mountainous state in far northeastern India, bordering Burma. Its people, majority Christian today, still have strong tribal affiliations, with each of the 16 Naga tribes speaking its own distinct language (all related to Tibetan). Last December, Vaibhav traveled to the remote territory, passing through a number of rural towns en route to the Hornbill Festival, an inter-tribal competition and celebration. These are his images.]

1

Old woman in Nagaland

A 99-year-old woman in Aizuto tries to hide her smile. People seem extremely fit and agile at advanced ages in Nagaland villages, perhaps from all the fresh air and daily hikes into the forest to fetch wood.

2

Soccer at sunset

Kids in a remote village play football at sunset. Being on the eastern edge of the country, Nagaland experiences very early sunrises and sunsets (4pm IST for the latter) relative to the rest of the country.

Nagaland kids

In a village beyond Tuensang, kids gather to face the camera. Young people in the region don't have much association with the outside world -- their reactions, as shown here, range from excitement to indifference.

5

Tourist umbrella

A tourist stands in a Khonoma Village bylane on a misty evening.

6

Fleeing kids

These shy kids in the district of Tuensang make a break for it after they see my camera pointed at them.

7

Lush landscape

The "Green Village" of Khonoma blooms with flowers after the December showers.

8

Monkey skull decoration

A Naga tribesman carries a monkey head as a depiction of the head hunting tradition in Nagaland. Until relatively recently, warriors here would collect rival heads over any conflict between the tribes.

9

At the Hornbill Festival

People from all over the world come to witness the Hornbill Festival. Here's a funny moment when a Naga tribesman looks at the "odd" North Indian headgear of the turban with extreme curiosity!

Naga bamboo battle

Naga men battle with bamboo poles as a part of the cultural festivities of the Hornbill Festival. Chilly December weather has the audience wrapped in layers of wool, while the men fight it out in traditional thongs.

11

Naga tribesman

This tribesman in his traditional headgear takes a moment off during a break between two tribal performances.

12

Festival feet

The 16 tribes of Nagaland come together and take circles around the big bonfire as the seven-day festival draws to a close.

13

Preparing to dance

One of the tribes gets ready to perform its traditional dances around the bonfire on the closing day of the Hornbill Festival.

14

Festival dancing

A moment of traditional dance around the fires on the final day of the festival.

15

Fires of the Hornbill Festival

The big bonfire and the 16 smaller fires, representing the tribes, keep burning late into the evening after the festival comes to an end.

These are breathtaking and beautiful. Thank you for sharing these with the world. It’s photos like these that inspire me to keep working hard so I can continue to see the world.

http://www.lolaakinmade.com Lola

Gorgeous essay! My favorites are #2 and #11

http://expatheather.com Heather

beautiful collection

Rajbir

Fabulous work, Vaibhav. Stunning photos!!! This link was forwarded to me by a photographer friend from Abu Dhabi (Shahid Hashmi) and I’m thrilled to see all these images. My father was a tea planter in Assam for 25 years, so my connection to eastern India is very intense. You mention the early rising of the sun: in the Assam Tea estates, everyone follows ‘Garden Time,’ which is one hour earlier than IST. Keep clicking!

http://www.vaibhavmehta.com Vaibhav

thanks rajbir! i can imagine the relatability with someone who’s lived there!
thanks for the garden time knowledge

http://www.monicaprelle.com mprelle

wow!

http://annemerritt.blogspot.com Anne

So many of these photos made me smile, but I love the simple dignity of #11. Beautiful work.

Patricia McCormick

They’re beautiful! They’re all great, but I loved #5 and #9. Thanks for sharing! Patricia

http://www.vaibhavmehta.com Vaibhav

thanks patricia!
you’ve been through all and more of this

http://www.24travelguide.com/ John

Hello Viabhav!

Who clicked these photographs ? I just loved the photographs. Did you ?

I need to tweet this

http://www.vaibhavmehta.com Vaibhav

heyy john,

yes i clicked these. glad you liked them…

http://www.landcruising.nl Karin-Marijke

Extraordinary pictures John, and I am jealous – we were denied a visa to Nagaland!

http://www.vaibhavmehta.com Vaibhav

Karin, the internal visa permits have been lifted from nagaland now…
so you could visit with just an indian visa!

Soccer at sunset (photo #2) is an awesome shot. A good insight into Hornbill Festival. Never knew about it before, and how it ends with the campfires and all. Great photo essay. Loved your eye for catching the sites of Nagaland. Brilliant photography.

Today, for the first time in my life I come across the name of Nagaland, India.It was beautiful.

Deepjyoti Hazarika

Really enjoyed the insight of Nagaland which was given by Vaibhav Mehta. Looking forward to more of northeast. I belong to northeastern part of India, and I feel sad at the thought that still alot of people lack the knowledge about these places and its vivid culture. If there are more people like Vaibhav I feel one day that the North eastern part of india will be recognised not only for the resources but also for the rich culture and its scenic beauty that it provides to a tourist.

Deepjyoti Hazarika

Really enjoyed the insight of Nagaland which was given by Vaibhav Mehta. Looking forward to more of northeast. I belong to northeastern part of India, and I feel sad at the thought that still alot of people lack the knowledge about these places and its vivid culture. If there are more people like Vaibhav I feel one day that the North eastern part of india will be recognised not only for the resources but also for the rich culture and its scenic beauty that it provides to a tourist.